Building Community: Why Twitter is a Must-Use Platform for Freelance Writers

I’ve been using Twitter since 2009.

In 2012, I created a new profile (the one you see here today) to share fitness content.

Once I was done with that I used my Twitter account to share anything that came to mind: politics, pop culture, what I thought about Academy Awards red carpet dresses, or live-tweeting an episode of The Bachelor.

In a nutshell, for about eight years I had no purpose or direction for my account.

Then 2020 happened.

Even though I’ve worked from my home office since the start of my freelance journey, all of a sudden thousands of people were stuck at home with no real outlet to connect.

That’s when Twitter became something different for me.

A watercooler of sorts where I connected with people in industries I would have otherwise missed.

These connections have actually changed how I work. From implementing tools for building stronger writing to getting referrals from my peers, I can 100% say that where I’m at as a freelance writer today is because of the community I’ve cultivated on Twitter.

Whether you’re a new freelancer or want to get more intentional with your Twitter use, here are some things I did to make my time spent on the platform more valuable:

• Engage with others. Don’t wait for others to make the first move! The reality is everyone is occupied with their own projects. If you want to build a community you need to engage and be a willing participant in conversations. Don’t be afraid to leave comments or say ‘hi’ (don’t be weird in the DMs though) in threads.
• Give more than you take. If you do nothing but tweet out into the void, you’re having a one-sided conversation. Instead, look to share or retweet pieces you find valuable and think your followers will appreciate. For every one tweet you send out, share or retweet three to four pieces.
• Keep it fun! You don’t have to post dry business content or endless threads all the time. Mix things up with images or GIFs to show a bit of your personality.

Bottom line: what you get out of Twitter is what you put in. Stay on top of trending content in your industry and don’t be afraid to engage (or spark) conversations!

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